By: Tyler Pultro
Studying abroad, backpacking, and the all around feeling of dropping into a brand new culture has its thrills. The incredible food, taking on a new language, and the thoughts of going out until the sun comes up may all already be the heart-pumping ride you came to Europe for. But if you’re a thrill-seeking soul that can’t be contained by your city limits, then there remains one question…
…on a scale of “Netflix and chill” to “Evel Knievel” where do you fall while you’re this young, free of responsibility and able to do the coolest ish possible?! Let’s start with the places to be and things to do with any friend at any age…yes, even those with a fear of everything.
Without doubt, hiking is one of the most enjoyable and mesmerizing experiences when in the right place. Grab a quick Nutella and bread breakfast in the hostel, fill up those Hydroflasks and strap up to check out some extraordinary scenes of nature.
Ranging about thirty square miles, Bohemian Switzerland National Park is one of the Czech Republic’s and Europe’s finest natural beauties. Covered with mountain tops, canyons, and sandstone cities stacked atop the landscape, this national park also carries a rich history recording Mesolithic hunters and their settlements nearly 10,000 years ago.
From Prague, one can rent a car by day for this hour drive. Or if you opt for train, you need to continue by bus from Děčín to Hřensko or Mezni Louka (where the trail begins). The bus stop is in front of the train station, but one could also take a taxi from the train station in Děčín. This will cost you approximately CZK 300-500 or €12-20.
(photo via macsadventure.com)
With the help of TripAdvisor and sites alike, one can easily find some other exciting activities to do in any city like those of vespa scooter tours and caving. Don’t think twice because yes you can ride your own scooter in Budapest by day with the hilarious and knowledgeable guide, a Dutchman named Guido on his Budapest Scooter Tour .
Right after zipping from Buda and over the Danube River to Pest, one should definitely descend to the labyrinth of caves funneling under the city! Even for you tame bucket list seekers, Caving Under Budapest brings a once in a lifetime excursion into a soon to be UNESCO World Heritage site created by the water feeding Budapest’s popular thermal baths.
So you’ve had enough moving for one trip, when can you find some grub?! For those foodies, hopefully without a fear of heights, the endorphin indulging Dinner In the Sky is where it is at. This gourmet dinner is exactly what it sounds like as you eat a meal cooked in front of you while suspended a few hundred feet in the air! Check to see which cities are embracing the trend as it hovers around Europe.
Bobby Flay status is cool, but keeping moving up the scale to burn past that speed limit and graduate to the spontaneous craziness we travel for. This rank on the scale is for the majority of those adventurers looking to check multiple things off that bucket list without completely breaking the bank.
Greece paints some of the coolest scenic photos one can snag like Santorini’s blue topped homes in the cliffside with sunsets blanketing the Mediterranean while chilling on beaches in Corfu. However, little know of the steal one can snag for just €20 a day (with a valid driver’s license) to whip ATV’s all around the islands with basically no rules. Just don’t be that American in headlines flipping a quad off of a cliff…
Now for those GoPro footage fiends that want to get airborne, look no further than Interlaken, Switzerland. Besides cheese, chocolate and being neutral on all accounts… these people are known to defy gravity above the most picturesque settings Europe offers. Get to Interlaken and make friends with some hilarious guides at Outdoor Interlaken that will take you Paragliding, Hang Gliding, and Canyoning. Not sure what canyoning is? Just imagine hiking, natural water slides carved in the mountain, plus cliff jumping. Rope-a-DOPE!
(photo via ausflugsziele.ch)
Not only do the Swiss Alps bring some killer summer activities, but for those looking to shred some slopes, one cannot forget their skiing and snowboarding will forever be some of the best in the world. A BMW downhill race course, all inclusive gear rentals, and even night-sledding for the tamer speed demon all come to life in Interlaken during the winter.
Let’s flip the season real quick and hop on some gnarlier weather to shred in Portugal. The city of Lagos is up and coming for backpackers with its insane nightlife, beaches and, without doubt, gnarly waves. (Pro tip pop into the Lagos Surf Center.) It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a point breaking Johnny Utah, who wouldn’t want to hang ten in Europe?
(photo via www.awe365.com)
Now for the moment you death defying, YOLO chasing fanatics have been looking for in Europe. Here are the three adrenaline junkie fixes you need to plan you’re traveling around if you want to come close to considering yourself a daredevil.
It is no surprise Interlaken makes it on to the adrenaline junkie scale once again as many call the Swiss location the “Outdoor Capitol of Europe.”
So what will your choice of life saving equipment be? One very long bungy attached to your feet as you jump right out of the gondola you rode up in, plunging nearly 500 feet…
…or will you strap on a parachute and jump with Skydive Switzerland from 16,000 feet? A totally underestimated perk is when your jumping partner will point out mountain tops like Mont Blanc in France and another in Italy just before you exit your perfectly good airplane. Who would want to see the four corners when you can skydive while seeing three different countries?!
Either way you will soon realize you have never screamed louder or felt the highest of highs once you’re feet are on the ground again.
(photo via tripzmate.com)
And finally…no one truly knows if Evel Knievel would have dared get off his bike to run alongside a stampede of human tossing bulls. Why not be one of the craziest people in the world for a day and Run with the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain at the fiesta of San Fermin. It is free!…So put on the traditional red and white, dance your day away, indulge in endless sangria, and run for your life because when else will slapping a bull’s ass be a check on the bucket list?
Evel Knievel, you’ve got nothing on us.
